This invention is an improvement upon the disposable garments of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 786,891 filed Oct. 11, 1985 and now allowed, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. Ser. No. 67,164 filed July 2, 1984 and now abandoned and European Patent Application No. 214,636, published Mar. 18, 1987, assigned to the instant assignee, the entire disclosures of which are expressly incorporated herein by reference and relied upon. The entire disclosure of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 947,948, filed Dec. 31, 1986 and also assigned to the instant assignee, is also expressly incorporated herein by reference and relied upon.
Disposable garments are generally well known in the art and have become an important and essentially indispensable sanitary protection item, most particularly in the field of infant and child care where disposable diapers provide for the absorption and containment of urine and other body exudates. Present commercially available disposable diapers are generally unitary, preshaped and prefolded, and comprised of a liquid previous bodyside liner, a fluid impervious backing sheet with an absorbent material disposed therebetween. These presently available disposable diapers have met a particular need and have become ever increasingly popular. However, even though the presently available disposable diapers are efficient and effective, they have several drawbacks that have been identified by mothers of infants wearing the diapers. Although the presently available diapers have elasticized leg openings which provide a better fit and enhanced containment of fluid exudates, they have not been entirely successful in stopping leakage from explosive liquified bowel movements and rapid discharges of urine.
Another drawback presently associated with commercially available disposable diapers is skin irritation caused by urine, feces or moisture trapped next to the skin. The feces, if remaining next to the skin, can smear causing problems in cleanup.
The attempts to solve these drawbacks associated with the present commercially available disposable diapers have extended over several years and include the several different concepts discussed below.
A variety of prior diaper constructions have used leg or waist gathers. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,324,245 to Mesek, et al. discloses a gathered or bloused design wherein waterproof extruded elastic film is applied to the waist and leg areas of a film barrier backsheet having an absorbent adhered thereto so that the elastic deforms the absorbent structure; again, such an arrangement represents the current state of disposable diapers on the market. Others include U.S. Pat. No. 3,196,872 to Hrubecky showing a rectangular diaper provided with triangular-shaped infolds in the crotch area, U.S. Pat. No. 3,860,003 to Buell wherein the diaper edges are provided with elasticized, flexible flaps along the edge of the absorbent pad in the crotch region and U.S. Pat. No. 4,050,462 to Woon, et al. wherein the diaper is elasticized only along the edges in the narrowed crotch area to create gross transverse rugosities in the crotch area.
U.S. Pat. 3,999,547 to Hernandez discloses a disposable diaper with a waterproof backsheet, a hydrophobic sheet and an absorbent pad sandwiched between the backsheet and the face sheet. The diaper is folded to define a box pleated configuration having a central panel, inwardly extending panels and outwardly extending panels with the inner edges of the inwardly extending panels being in abutting relationship. Sealing strips of waterproof material separate from the backsheet are secured on the face sheet. The sealing strips are formed by folding an excess width of the backsheet over the face sheet forming side flap portions, and then cutting the side flap portions free from the backsheet. The sealing strips may be folded inwardly toward the center of the diaper to form fluid catching seals.
A similar concept is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,210,143 to De Jonckheere which discloses a disposable diaper for a baby with at least one sheet of flexible liquid impermeable material comprising two longitudinal edges intended to define a waist portion and an absorbent pad superimposed on a central region of the liquid impermeable sheet. The diaper is characterized, in that it comprises, respectively in the immediate vicinity of each of the longitudinal edges, on either side of the pad, flexible longitudinal sheath inside which a flexible longitudinal tie is able to slide and in that each sheath comprises means for gaining access to the corresponding flexible tie in order to enable the latter to be gripped manually and to be tensioned at will in order to reduce the apparent length of the longitudinal edges, to press the latter at will around the baby's legs and to give the disposable diaper the shape of a trough between the legs.
Another concept is shown in U.S. Pat. 4,490,148 to Beckestrom which discloses a protector against incontinence comprising an oblong absorbent body which is fixed to a bottom liquid-tight layer extending outside the absorbent body. The lateral edge portions of the layer are folded in over the absorbent body and form side flaps, the distance between the edges thereof being less than the width of the absorbent body at its mid section. The side flaps are fixed at their ends to the bottom layer. An elastic line, arranged at the edge of each side flap, is designed to contract itself and thereby the edges of the side flaps. When the protector is put on, the edges of the side flaps come into elastic sealing contact in the thigh crease of the crotch.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,040,423 to Jones, discloses longitudinally extending folds or pleats made of fluff which are inflexible, somewhat massive and uncomfortable in that the pleats will not stand and form a smooth curve in conformance with the body when the diaper is worn. Rather, the pleats form corrugations that are bulky to sit upon, that is, the folds or pleats comprise absorbent and do not extend from the liner alone; moreover, when the diaper of Jones is worn, the pleats are unable to shorten their radius of curvature while bent in order to take up the induced slack and maintain the pleat as an effective fluid barrier. U.S. Pat. No. 4,500,316 to Damico is somewhat similar.
However, these attempts to solve one problem have resulted in the emergence of other problems. For example, the elasticized flaps can cause the waterproof material of the flaps to provide a tight seal at the thigh crease because the tensioned elastic presses the easily deformable flaps into close contact with the skin. The waterproof material of the flaps can then cause urine or moisture and even liquid fece material to collect next to the skin and cause skin irritation.
European Patent Application No. 0,219,326 published Apr. 22, 1987 discloses a diaper having dual cuffs wherein a barrier cuff is spaced from the topsheet and a gasketing cuff is formed at the leg opening. Somewhat similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 4,623,342 to Ito discloses pockets formed by means of elasticized leg gathers, particularly at FIGS. 2 and 3 thereof. Neither of these two documents teaches or suggests the use of an elastomeric outer cover. Others have attempted to provide an absorbent structure having elastic placed therein to be more closely conforming to the body of a wearer. For example, Australian Patent Application No. 24850/84, published Sept. 13, 1984, discloses a diaper gathered by an elastic netting panel attached when stretched to the crotch region of the facing sheet. Somewhat similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 4,662,877 to Williams, filed July 30, 1985 and based on Australian Patent Application No. 45217/85, published June 2, 1985, shows a diaper having elastics attached to the crotch portion of the facing sheet inwardly of the leg elastics and either side of a central aperture in the facing sheet. U.S. Pat. No. 4,402,690 to Redfern shows tensioned elastics sewn to the diaper inwardly of the leg openings; however, the leg openings themselves are not elasticized.
Several other draw-backs still remain that have been identified by mothers of infants wearing the diapers. These mothers have strongly voiced their desire to be able to obtain disposable diapers that are aesthetically neat and attractive when on their infant or child. The aesthetically neat criteria have been identified as including a trim, slim fit, and a neat fitting waist and legs that do not allow leakage of urine or feces. It has also been found that mothers do not want their children looking rumpled, bulky or messy. In addition, these mothers have expressed the desire to either have a disposable diaper that fits more sizes of babies or to have disposable diapers provided in more sizes. Another draw-back identified by these mothers has been the problem associated with skin irritation caused by urine, feces or moisture trapped next to the skin. They have again been very vocal in their desire to obtain disposable diapers that avoid or solve this problem.
In this regard, prior art constructions, such as U.S. Pat. No. 3,658,064 to Pociluyko and U.S. Pat. No. 3,370,590 to Hokanson, et al. have attempted to provide waste containment with a reusable liquid impermeable diaper cover having waterproof pouches or pockets for freely receiving an absorbent, such as a traditional cloth diaper or disposable absorbent; however, the retaining pouches on these supporting garments occlude the skin, covering the target areas at which urine is excreted. U.S. Pat. No. 4,397,646 to Daniels, et al. discloses a reuseable diaper capable of repeated sterilizations in a diaper laundry, comprising elasticized end and side margins and a durable absorbent such as cotton sewn into the crotch area of the waterproof diaper cover, which is a Teflon.sup..RTM. coated polyester or equivalent woven material.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,141,105 to Eller discloses a stretchable woven diaperholder for an absorbent pad. U.S. Pat. No. 4,425,128 to Motomura, discloses a diaper cover with sections of waterproof and stretching material in the cover adjacent the fasteners; yet, this construction relies upon reuseable treated woven fabric and many have seam to fully integrate other nonstretchable absorbent components between stretchable diaper ears, effectively eliminating any stretch properties in the front or rear panels or along the waist and leg openings of the diaper cover.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,597,761, 4,496,360 and 4,597,670 all disclose multi-component diapering systems comprising an elasticized disposable absorbent insert capable of attachment to a reusable nonstretchable overgarment.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,355,425 to Jones, et al., which uses a melt-blown elastic border strip, and 3,644,157 to Draper, both show disposable stretchable panties or shorts rather than diapering garments.
Other approaches have utilized elastic fluid impermeable backing films laminated to an absorbent layer in an attempt to provide enhanced conformability to the body surface, but these films are occlusive to the skin, there is no cooperation of elements elucidated and the integration of the absorbent component restricts the elasticity of the outer cover by the manner in which it is bonded thereto. In this type of construction, the elastic backing film must provide both the barrier function and the fit and conformability functions of the diaper. Such an absorbent dressing is taught by U.S. Pat. No. 4,166,464 to Korpman.
Those references discussed immediately above which have utilized either nonstretchable or stretchable covers functioning both as the diaperholder and liquid barrier have inadequately recognized the problems associated with these approaches, especially the need for functional interactions of the various structural components. Moreover, costly woven diaper covers or overpants, designed to be reusable, do not offer true disposability.
In summary, there still exists a need for an improved disposable garment which contains and absorbs the sideways flow of urine and other fluid body wastes. There is a still further need for an anatomically form-fitting, generally self-adjusting disposable absorbent garment providing such enhanced sideways containment and absorption of fluid waste.